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WIGK RAISER FOR CENTRAL DRAFT LAMPS.

No.456,334. PatentedJuly 21,1891.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

JOHN C. MILLER, OF MERID EN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE MERIDEN BRONZE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

WlCK-RAISER FOR CENTRAL-DRAFT LAMPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 456,334,;iated July 21, 1891. Application filed February 16, 1891. Serial No. 381,694. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN C. MILLER, of Meriden, in the count-y of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Wick-Raisers for Central- Draft Lamps; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings andtheletters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and r0 exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a vertical section of the fount, showing side view of the wick raiser; Fig. 2, a

transverse section cutting on line pg 00 of Fig. 1;.

Fig. 3, a vertical section cutting through the arms at the spindle I in a position near the wedge and illustrating the operation of they wedge upon the arms.

This invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for adjusting the wick in the class of lamps employing tubular wicks, commonly called central-draft lamps, and particularly to that class of adjusting devices which are operated by a vertically-sliding rod arranged through the top of the fount outside the burner and connected to the wick within the fount, so that the up-and-down movement of the rod will impart corresponding movement to the wick, the object of the invention being a simple construction which will permit a firm engagement of the wick, but so that the said engagement may be released as occasion may require; and the invention con- 3 5 sists in the construction as hereinafter described, and particularly recited in the claims.

A represents the fount, within which is a vertical central tube B, around which the wick C is arranged in the usual manner, the wick being adapted to slide up and down on the central tube B. Through the top of the fount and outside the burner a vertical rod D is arranged in suitable guides and so as to move freely up and down. At the lower end of the rod Dtwo arms E F are hinged so as to swing in a horizontal plane. The hinging is made by forming a knuckle a on one arm E and a like knuckle b on the other arm F, and through which the rod extends, and so that both arms may swing upon the rod as a hinge-pintle. The arms extend toward the wick, and near the wick they branch, respectively, to the left and right, terminating in' jaws G and H, these jaws extending around the wick and constructed with faces serrated or otherwise adapted to firmly grasp the wick.

Through the arms E F atransverse spindle I is arranged, preferably extending at both sides and terminating in heads J K, as seen in Fig. 3. Between the" heads and the respective arms springs L M areintroduced, the tendency of which is to hold the arms in the closed position and the jaws in their grasping position, as seen in Fig. 2. While the jaws are thus closed together upon the wick, the raising or lowering of the rod D will correspondingly move the jaws and adjust the wick. It is desirable to make the wick-adj uster as an immovable part of the fount rather than to make'it entirely removable from the fount when the wick is to be renewed, as in many cases. It is therefore necessary to provide means for disengaging the jaws from thewick within the fount. To accomplish'this object, a depending wedge N is arranged in the top of the fount, which stands in a plane between the two arms E F, as seen in Fig. 3. The two arms are beveled outward upon their inner upper side, as seen at 0, Fig. 3, so as to form a mouth to pass onto the wedge as the arms are drawn upward. When it is desired to disengage the wick from the jaws or to introduce a new wick, the rod is raised to the position seen in Fig. 3, bringing the mouth 0 between the jaws directly below the hinge. Then a still further upward movement of the jaws takes themonto the wedge, the wedge operating to separate the arms, as represented in broken lines, Fig. 3, the springsL M yielding for such separation and correspondo ingly separating the jaws, as seen in Fig. 2, and while held in this position the jaws are so far separated as to permit the withdrawal of a wick or the introduction of a new wick, and when the wick is introduced in the usual 9 5 manner the rod is pressed downward,and as the arms escape from the wedge N the springs L M react, bringing the jaws again into forced engagement with the wick, when the wick may be moved down into the fount and adjusted to its proper position, the jaws retaining their hold upon the wick until such time as they are raised to bring them into separating engagement with the wedge N.

The fount is provided with the usual burner, the base P of which is represented in Fig. 1. It is desirable to prevent the raising of the wick-adjuster so far as to separate the jaws while the burner is in place, and this for obvious reasons. To prevent the possibility of so raising the jaws as to separate them while the lamp is in working order, the jaws are constructed with an upwardly-projecting finger R, which is adapted to strike the under side of the burner, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1, before the arms shall reach the wedge N, and so thatwith the burner in place the engagement of the jaws with the wedge is impossible. The disengagement of the wick-raiser from the wick is never desirable, excepting when the burn er is removed. When the burner is removed, then the finger B may pass up through the burner opening or neck of the fount, and so as to permit the arms to engage with the wedge and cause the jaws to open.

I do not wish to be understood as claiming, broadly, a pair of jaws arranged upon a vertical adjusting-rod and so as to slide up and down within the fount, having combined therewith a stationary wedge adapted to open the jaws as they approach the top of the fount, as such, I am aware, is not new; but

\Vhat I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In awick-adj uster for central-d raft lamps, the combination of a vertically-adj ustable rod arranged through the fount outside the burner and so as to slide up and down, a pair of arms hung upon said rod and so as to swing in a horizontal plane, the said arms extending toward the wick and branching to the right and left, terminating in jaws upon the opposite sides of the wick, a spring adapted to yieldingly hold the said jaws and arms in their closed or grasping position, a depending wedge in the top of the fount in a plane between the two arms and adapted to enter between the said two arms and separate the arms as they are brought into engagement with the said wedge, a spring the tendency of which is to yieldingly hold the said arms and jaws in their closed or grasping position, a burner surrounding the wick, its under side exposed upon the inside of the fount, and a stop on the said jaws and adapted to strike the said burner before the said wedge is reached by the arms, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, in a central-draft lamp, of the rod D, vertically adjustable in the fount outside the burner, two arms E F, hinged to the lower end of said rod and so as to swing in a horizontal plane, the said two arms extending to the right and left and terminatinginjawsGlLandaspindle passing transversely through said arms terminating in a head at each end, with springs L M between the respective arms and the heads of the said spindle, the tendency of said springs being to yieldingly hold the said arms or jaws in their closed or grasping position, with a depending wedge upon the inside of the fount and in a plane between the said arms, the said arms being adapted to engage the said wedge as the rod and arms' are drawn to their highest position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribin g witnesses.

J OHN C. MILLER.

Witnesses:

E. A. MERRIMAN, W. H. Jonas. 

